It's on page 175, the text is "Then and now. Programmatic structures that have withstood the test of time. (1) The Fruit Basket..." and there's a photo at the top of the page. Oh well, now I know not to crane my neck looking around while I'm cruising through that area. Thanks, Jim!

Another question: On page 13, Jim reports on the White Log Tavern chain that "...by 1937 there were sixty-two of these fast-food restaurants located throughout California." And provides references.

On page 67, he writes "...the White Log Taverns, which originated in Oakland, spread forty units across California and into Oregon..."

Chris, have you nailed down the number of CA locations in your research?

I made a list of all the businesses in CA Crazy that I can take down to the library and dive into the phone books to see what I can find. In particular, I'm interested in the chains where he hasn't specified a number of locations, or the locations are not listed.

Down at the Library yesterday, I was looking at the LA Times index and found an article on giant object architecture from Steve Harvey dated 6/20/85 with this quote from Arthur Whizin about his Chili Bowls:

"When the Long Beach earthquake hit, my Chili Bowl on Florence (Avenue in Huntington Park) was the only building on the block that wasn't damaged. It's because of the circular shape. It gave evenly in all directions. The place was full, and all 28 customers ran outside. After a couple of minutes, they peered inside the window, saw everything was OK, and came back and finished their chili."

It also reports a Chili Bowl slogan as: "We cook our beans backwards -- you only get the hiccups!"

Also found some coverage of the opening of the Cadillac building on Ventura Blvd in Tarzana from 1/22/1987. They reported that one pedestrian said about the building: "It's beyond being not aesthetically pleasing. It's irritating. The owners of this building are going to be sorry. It may be 'in' now, but two years from now, it'll be out."

I'm happy to report that the building is still there, and looking good, now approaching its 25th anniversary...

"Los Angeles magazine associate editor and friend to programmatic architecture Chris Nichols reports today that LA's last barrel-shaped building (on Vineland in North Hollywood) will be saved by the people behind Bigfoot Lodge. The former Idle Hour Cafe and La Cana Restaurant was built in 1941 and has been closed since 1984. Bigfoot Lodge owner Bobby Green and his 1933 Group picked up the building at auction this past weekend and Nichols says "Their plans for a full restoration of the place are amazing and wonderful and I’ll meet you all there for a drink when it reopens sometime next year as the Idle Hour Cafe." [LA Mag]

The extraordinarily complicated real estate transaction is still playing out, but cleared its last major hurdle (I hope) in court on Friday. The work can't start until they get the keys, but keep checking here for updates.

Okay, the Bucket looks like it's reopened. Not sure what the story is there, or of it's out of danger or just had a temporary reprieve. But I stopped to take a picture of the Coffee Pot/Hot Cha in Long Beach today, and it's boarded up and yellow tagged.